Brake-staff support



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- 110. MEEKER.

BRAKE STAFF SUPPORT.

No 420,691. Patented Feb. 4, 1890.

A TTORIVEYS.

N. PETERS, mwuuw mhw, Washington. ac,

,UNITED STATES PATENT OFFicE.

DANIEL CAMP MEEKER, OF BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA.

B RAKE-STAFF S U PPO RT'.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 420,691, dated February4, 1890. Application filed May 11, 1889. Serial No. 310,384. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL CAMP MEEKER, of Bradford, in the county ofMcKean and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and ImprovedBrake-Staff Support, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

Brake-staifs are ordinarily connected to freight and box cars by simplebrackets, and the pawls which engage the staff-ratchets have ordinarilybeen secured to the woodwork of the car by simple wood-screws, thearrangement being such that snow, ice, dirt, &c., frequently interferewith the proper operation of the pawl and ratchet, and it frequentlyhappens that the pawl becomes loosened and gives way, owing to itsinsecure support. It is to obviate these objections that I have designedthe support forming the subject-matter of this application, theinvention consisting, essentially, of a bedplate arranged forconnectionwith a carroof or the plate of a box-car, such bed-plate being formedwith a partial housing and being provided with a swinging section, whichis a complement of the housing made integral with the bed-plate, theupper end of the brake-staif being guided by the bed-plate and the pawlbeing pivotally connected to the said bed-plate, all as will behereinafter fully explained, and"specifically pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar figures and letters of referenceindicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure l is an end View of a portion of a freight-car representing thesame as it appears when provided with my improved brake-staff support.Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional plan View; and Fig. 3 is a detail view,the brake-staif being shown in section, and the cover or complementaryhousing section being represented as it appears when in the openposition.

In the drawings, 10 represents a casting arranged to overlap the upperedge of the car-roof or the upper edge of a box-car. This casting isformed with one section a of a housing 11, the other section b of saidhousing being hinged to the section a and being complementary thereto,the arrange ment being such that the section b may be swung into theposition in which it is shown in Fig. 2 and there held to place by asetscrew 12.

The casting 10 serves as a support for the upper end of a brake-staif20, and just above the casting the ratchet 21 of said staif is arrangedin a posit-ion such that when the section b is adjusted to the positionin which it is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 it will be effectually housed.

In the rear flange c of the housing 11 there is formed an aperture 01,through which the pawl 22 extends, said pawl being formed with acircular boss 6, the peripheral face of which closely approaches the endwalls of the slot or opening cl. The foot-piece f of the pawl 22 extendsout over the casting 10.

Such a construction as the one above described insures a proper holdingof the pawl and ratchet and prevents the entrance of snow, hail, dirt,or any matter which would be likely to clog and prevent the properoperation of the pawl and ratchet. Then, too,

as the pawl is supported by a pintle that is stepped in metal itnecessarily follows that the position of the pawl is not so liable toshift, and consequently the pawl will always be in position to engagethe ratchet.

The advantages of the brake-staff support above set forth will beappreciated by all having had occasion to use the ramshackle mountingsheretofore employed. The cast ing 10 and the housing-section 12 shouldbe made of malleable iron.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. A brake-staff support comprising a housing formedof two sections hinged together, one section being provided with anaperture in one side, substantially as described.

2. The housing formed of two sections hinged together, one section beingprovided with an aperture in one side, and a pawl formed with a circularboss and a foot-piece pivoted in the aperture of the housing, in

with a set-screw 12, a staff supported by the casting, a ratchet carriedbythe staff, and a pawl pivotally connected to the casting and arrangedto extend Within the housing to engage the ratchet, said pawl beingformed with a circular boss 6 and an outwardlyextending foot-piece f,substantially as described.

DANIEL CAMP MEEKER. Witnesses:

JOHN K. WILSON, O. W. GARDNER.

